Bye opa and oma!

Sera and Yasmin's opa and oma have returned to Holland after spending two weeks with us. Sera seems to understand that oma, opa and grandma visit a few times a year and eventually, leave. The guest room in our house is, understood by her, as theirs. When they're not here, she tries every night to sleep in the guest room. Initially, we would encourage her to sleep in her own room with Yas, but nowadays, we let her sneak into the guest room. One, Johan and I are too tired in the night to have a bed 'tussle' with her, and second, we've come to realise that she may simply take comfort in sleeping in 'their' bed when they're not here (and believe me, she sleeps through the night in 'their' bed).

So, this morning, with their opa and oma's departure came the usual quiet acceptance from Sera. Yassy, on the other hand, has been very confused the whole morning. She went onto the balcony and kept calling out for opa and oma, waiting for them to appear. I asked her casually where they were and she said, "in school". She cuts up her wooden birthday cake, wanting to give opa and oma a slice, as she has been doing on a daily basis. Ahhh, my poor Yassy, it breaks my heart that she has to deal with goodbyes.

Nevertheless, the girls had a good time these past two weeks and no thanks to my camera, THE camera, I have no photos. But thanks to their opa and oma, I have some cute photos from their time here. Enjoy!

The girls on their way to school

Yas gets to play at the playground while Sera goes into her classroom

This is a typical Yas move - throws down the scooter, pouts and grumbles all the way home

The girls went bird watching with opa

They did lots of swimming


Sera practising her jumping in

And she's beginning to swim without her noodle ... but I have to say, she has the funniest swim ever. I call it the 'otter swim', her whole body, including her head, moves in an 'S' shape-movement

Yas just chilling out as usual

Her 'monkey' antics

Reading time ... always a big thing with the girls

Earth Day at Children's Garden. The school had encouraged green or home-made recycled clothes ... hmm, I just painted a tree, a cloud, a leaf and a flower, with non-toxic face paint on Sera.

Yas on the carousel, and she stayed on for several rounds

Opa and oma's birthday dinner at Cucina

Our weekend at Ras Al Kaimah, Hilton Spa resort

Yas and oma relaxing in the saltwater pool.

Happy Birthday oma and opa

With oma and opa's arrival, came the birthday celebrations. And everyone knows how Sera loves a birthday. And two birthdays meant ... yes, two birthday cakes and that surely got Sera and Yasmin all excited.

Evening of oma's birthday, we had a little girls' night in, while the boys went out

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Dinner at Cucina on opa's birthday. Yas and that crazy smile of hers

The only time Sera stops talking is when she's eating ice cream ... I am not kidding.

All smiles for oma and opa

The birthday card Sera gave oma ... and that's oma and opa on it

Craft time!

Johan and I play differently with the girls. He likes to play football, 'toss them' around in the swimming pool, go down the slide or up on the swing with them, be a human playground for them ... it's horseplay. He's the more active player and enjoy teaching them things like riding a bicycle for instance. I, on the other hand, am the more passive player. I let them indulge and be messy with paint, dough, water, beading, cutting, pretend play ... ahem, the more creative aspects. 'wink'.

Anyway, this morning, I suggested he did something different with them, something crafty. He did look at me with some trepidation but in the end conceded with a good amount of gusto. It was 3 simple steps really - mix the plaster, pour plaster into moulds, and then paint them. I thought I could leave them while I snucked out for a while but nah, it wasn't possible. It was,

"What! I have to read an instruction sheet?!!!!!"
"I need a mixing bowl."
"Baby, can you get me 60ml of water?",
"I need a wet cloth ... "
"Do we have more paint brushes?"
"Yasmin don't touch the plaster!!!"
"Yasmin, don't eat the plaster!!!!"

Ahh, in the end, I stayed put to mix, mould and paint with them. And I'm glad I did, because it was good fun!

Guess what he's doing ... ?

Mixing the plaster, very precisely ... hee hee

Sera painted everything in her trademark 'rainbow' colours

Yas painting her seahorse

Eggs, eggs and one scary bunny

Sera has this friend from kindergarten, whose parents throw the most fun parties. I mean, they really go all out, be it birthdays, Halloween and this , the Easter egg hunt. We were invited to join in the egg hunt at their big garden, paint eggs and dive into some typical Austrian fare.

Needless to say, the girls had a very good time at the Easter party. Yasmin, was her mischievous self, snooping around and collecting the eggs before the hunt started, squishing the waiting-to-be-painted hard-boiled eggs and stuffing her face with too many chocolate eggs. The only thing that got her all quiet and plastered to me was when the Easter bunny made his appearance. ha ha. Well, I would be terrified if I were her. 'wink'

Sera hugging the bunny, almost unbelievable! She took a very long while but eventually took a brave step towards him, only because the other kids seem to be thrilled???

another hug ...

And another one, this time intruding on a family photo of our gracious hosts

That's me with a terrified Yasmin.

Chilling with Sophia after the egg hunt

April One

This morning, when the girls and I were walking to the pool for an early swim, it was easy to notice how the courtyard garden looked and smelt different. The trees now have tender new leaves and the flowers seemed to have bloomed overnight. It's Spring for sure and I'm looking forward to it, just because last month felt dreary, filled with uncertainties, a bout of sickness and some melancholy . Even the trees looked sad with its naked branches. So this month, I'm feeling more positive despite the impending finality of our stay here. But from now till we leave, we're going to look forward to a few things - Easter, birthdays, opa and oma's visit, the remaining weeks of nice weather, Sera's final semester in nursery (awww, she's growing up too fast!), spending time with friends ... and maybe, if we get ourselves organized, camping in the desert.

Yas in a ridiculously cute 'tu-tu' swim suit from Evan. Girls posing for me before heading to the pool.